UNAS activities still suspended, but campus opens

JAKARTA (JP): The disputed biology campus of Universitas Nasional (UNAS), one of Indonesia's oldest privately run universities, has yet to resume academic activity although it reopened yesterday after being closed down for over a week due to internal bickering.

Responding to students' demands, the university's rector, Prof. Achmad Baiquni, last Saturday inspected the campus located on Jl. Kebon Binatang, Ragunan, South Jakarta.

The Ragunan campus was closed down on the night of June 25, and fenced with three-meter-high metal sheets obstructing any view of the campus buildings from the outside.

Several men wearing plain clothes, claiming to be from the army, meticulously guarded the campus, taking exception to anyone entering or even trying to observe the campus site.

According to witnesses, five trucks arrived that evening taking furniture and seizing documents from the building.

A sign was put up at the metal fence that read "this building is under renovation, no one is allowed entry ... on orders of the UNAS rector No. 180/R/VI/1994."

Trouble at UNAS has been brewing for the past two years since the previous rector and founder of the university, Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, dismissed 15 lecturers.

Upon Takdir's retirement, the new rector, Baiquni, reinstated the 15 lecturers. This infuriated Takdir, who, as head of the Yayasan Memajukan Ilmu dan Kebudayaan, the foundation in charge of UNAS, tried to discharge Baiquni.

The recent move to renovate the Ragunan campus has been interpreted by many students as a way for those under Baiquni at the other UNAS campus at Pejaten, South Jakarta, to take over the Ragunan site.

Meeting with Baiquni last Thursday, representatives of the biology students senate explained that his actions had caused the academic activities of the biology faculty to be suspended.

Following the meeting, the head of the senate of the biology students, Cahyo Utomo, told his fellow students that Baiquni's decision was not meant to interfere with the students' studies.

Baiquni thus promised to inspect the campus site and gave assurances that the situation would return to normal by Monday (yesterday).

The rector kept his promise and examined the campus on Saturday, reiterating that students would be able to return by Monday.

"If there are students who wish to do research or complete their theses, we will let them do that," he said on Saturday as quoted by Republika, adding the renovations will take about one month.

Disappointed

Despite Baiquni's assurances, many students were disappointed yesterday when they found that the campus was not functioning normally as earlier promised. In fact most of the metal sheets have not been taken down.

"I am very disappointed with the whole proceedings," said Novi, a final-year student studying biology.

Her disappointment was shared by many of her colleagues, who were not merely frustrated at the week-long closure of their campus, but at the way the faculty have handled the problems.

A student who asked to remain anonymous told The Jakarta Post that the biology students have fallen victims to a long-drawn dispute between two warring parties.

She explained that the current dispute within the biology administration is occurring at the expense of the students.

As a result of this "power struggle," biology credits taken at the Ragunan campus during the past two years are not recognized at Pejaten.

"Because of this I have to take all my courses again, despite the fact that I have only my final thesis left," she said.

The struggle for power between the two campuses has also led to a parallel faculty staff, with those currently teaching at Ragunan likely to be dismissed if the school in Pejaten takes over the Ragunan campus.

"If they fire the lecturers at Ragunan, it means many of us will have to do our thesis again since our councilors are all teachers at Ragunan," said Novi who is currently writing on cattle farming. (mds)